Sport in Coleambally and Darlington Point has been given a huge boost by the state government. The Coleambally Sporting Precinct is set to receive a $705,000 upgrade and another $320,000 to go towards the stadium. Meanwhile, Darlington Point’s sports ground will get improvements worth $320,000 and the Point’s golf course will get $190,000 to redevelop its irrigation system. Murrumbidgee Council mayor Ruth McRae described the funding injections as a “real opportunity for a small rural council”. “One of the beneficial things from our (council) merger has been to develop a major projects list,” Councillor McRae said. “We have workshopped this since the merger.” Cr McRae said council’s outgoing general manager Craig Moffitt had worked to ensure projects on the list had been “scoped and costed”. She said John Scarce, who started as council’s general manager on Monday, was excited about working to deliver the projects. The funding injections are from the state government’s Stronger Country Communities program, with a total of $3.8 million to be spent. Jerilderie Preschool and Long Day Care centre will get $994,000 and $1.3 million will be spent on Jerilderie Swimming Pool. Cr McRae said the projects would help enhance the social fabric of the community, with several sporting clubs and schools expected to use the upgraded facilities. She said the size of the investment was something that rural councils often struggled to raise alone. “We’re thrilled with the cash injection for our community, and we’re looking forward to the challenge of seeing the projects come to fruition.” The funding was announced by Member for Murray Austin Evans and Member for Albury Greg Aplin, who share the Murrumbidgee Council area. “I look forward to seeing each one of these projects complete, as they are projects for our community that will be enjoyed by locals and visitors for years to come,” Mr Evans said. Cr McRae said both Mr Evans and Mr Aplin had worked collaboratively to deliver the fundings for Murrumbidgee Council. She said while the projects were almost shovel-ready, which is why they received funding, there was still work to be done including devising the type and number tenders for the various projects.